Undergraduate Program

Highly-ranked Duke Biomedical Engineering (BME) creates an interdisciplinary research and education environment that trains students to have an impact in industry and medicine. Our goal is to prepare graduates to be leaders in integrating engineering and biology for detecting and treating human disease. A unique aspect of our program is how we engage undergraduates in intensive research.

Prepare for Your Future

Highly Ranked

#3 in world in the Shanghai Ranking of biomedical engineering programs

As a student, we will prepare you for professional employment in areas such as medical device industry, engineering consulting, biomechanics, and biotechnology; graduate work in biomedical engineering, or entrance into medical school.

Our program is designed to be flexible to match your interests. Students with special interests can choose a dual major option or take an elective course sequence that provides specific knowledge in biomedical imaging and instrumentation, biomechanics, electrobiology, or biomolecular and tissue engineering.

Our students pursue many diverse careers. After graduation, about one-third of our students plan to attend graduate schools in various engineering or basic science disciplines and about one-fifth plan to enter medical or dental schools. (The rate of acceptance is significantly higher than the national average of all different undergraduate programs.) The rest go to law schools, business schools, industries, or consulting firms.

To learn more about our program, you can view the slides (PDF) from the BME Information Session for incoming freshmen.

Accreditation

The Duke undergraduate major in biomedical engineering was the first accredited department (September 1972) by the Engineering Council for Profession Development (now the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org) and is consistently ranked as one of the top programs in the nation.

Program Educational Objectives

We expect that a few years after graduation, graduates of our program will be on track to become leaders in corporate, professional, and academic communities. In particular, they will:

Advance in their careers in biomedical engineering or related areas of industry, academia and medicine

Engage in life-long learning, for example, by enrolling in graduate or professional degree programs or receiving advanced training for professional advancement

Utilize their engineering experience in creating new knowledge or enabling technologies for improvement of human health and health care

Understand the social and ethical implications of their work

Students Outcomes and Program Criteria

Our students will have the following capabilities upon completion of their degrees:

An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering

An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data

An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability and sustainability

An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams

An ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems

An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility

An ability to communicate effectively

The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental and societal context

A recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in life-long learning

A knowledge of contemporary issues

An ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

In addition, as biomedical engineers, our students will have:

Understanding of biology and physiology

Capability to apply advanced mathematics, science and engineering to solve the problems at the interface of engineering and biology

Capability to apply statistics to solve the problems at the interface of engineering and biology

Ability to make measurements on and interpret data from living systems

Ability to address problems associated with the interaction between living and non-living materials and systems